Water heater stand and drain pan



July 7, 1970 D. D. LOGSDON 3,519,233

WATER HEATER STAND AND DRAIN PAN Filed Sept. 4, 1968 INI/E/VTOR DUANE D. Loasoo/v Eon A20 D. OER/AN United States Patent Ofice 3,519,233 Patented July 7, 1970 3,519,233 WATER HEATER STAND AND DRAIN PAN Duane D. Logsdon, 31461 Alta Vista St., Redlands, Calif. 92373 Filed Sept. 4, 1968, Ser. No. 757,244 Int. Cl. A47g 23/02 U.S. Cl. 248-146 1 Claim ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Gas-fired hot water heaters are commonly installed in various types of edifices for the purpose of supplying hot water. Such heaters are frequently installed in various interior closets or small rooms. They are also frequently installed in similar closets or rooms which open directly to the exterior of buildings. When installed in such places, several different problems may on occasion be encountered.

Such heaters are of course normally connected to a source of water under pressure. Within them corrosion may be encountered. As a result of such connections and such corrosion, on occasion such heaters may start to leak and this, in turn, will result in water from not only within the heater but the water supplied to the heater flooding the ambient area. There are many common cases of such heaters developing leaks and flooding household interiors so as to damage and/or ruin carpets, and the like.

Another problem encountered with gas-fired water heaters concerns the potential danger aspect of unignited gaseous fumes accumulating in a pocket or area beneath such a heater in a small room or closet. When such a pocket of gas develops, there is of course a degree of intermixture of such gas with the surrounding air. The result of such a mixture is an explosive or potentially explosive hazard which if ignited in one manner or another coulud cause severe damage. Such ignition could occur from the pilot light employed with a conventional gas-fired hot water heater. Although to a degree this problem can be minimized by providing appropriate vents in a door or wall in a room or closet holding'a gas-fired hot water heater and to a degree is minimized by the normal seepage of any gaseous material around a door it nevertheless remains a significant problem.

This problem has been recognized by appropriate regulations or so-called codes affecting the plumbing industry. Certain of these regulations or codes require in certain instances the installation of a gas-fired hot water heater at an elevated distance above the normal floor of an enclosure in which such a water heater is installed. In an eflort to comply with these regulations or codes, various types of wooden supports and the like have been used to support gas-fired hot water heaters in elevated locations. Such structures have tended to be somewhat haphazard in nature. Because of this they have not supplied the requisite support for the weight of a hot water heater and thus then have in turn created a potential problem of water heaters falling down from an intended location. Such supports have also not made provision for possible leakage from the hot water heaters.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An objective of the present invention is to provide new and improved means for supporting hot water heaters in an elevated location. A further objective of this invention is to provide means for this purpose which can be used so as to control any potential leakage from such a hot water heater in order to avoid possible damage. A related objective is to provide combined hot water heater support and drain pans which may be easily and conveniently used and installed and which performs their intended function in an extremely reliable manner.

Another important objective of this invention is to provide such a combined hot water heater stand and drain pans which are comparatively inexpensive in character. The economic importance of this feature of the invention will, of course, be easily apparent. An objective of the invention is also to achieve an economic benefit by providing hot-water heater stand and drain pans which can be shipped in a knocked-down configuration and which may be easily and conveniently installed and assembled at a job site. This feature of the invention enables the structures of this invention to be shipped at a lower freight rate than would be otherwise possible.

In accordance with this invention these objectives are achieved by providing combined hot water heater stand and drain pan each of which includes an upwardly concaved pan, a drain fitting leading from the bottom of the pan, and a plurality of legs supporting the pan. In order to achieve economy of production as well as intended reliable satisfactory performance, these legs are elongated members having first and second sides joined at adjacent edges so as to have the cross-sectional shape of an angle. With this construction, the second sides of the legs are shorter than the first sides so that in effect notches are formed at the tops of the legs. These notches hold the drain pan so that a substantially cylindrical periphery on the pan fits against the first sides of the legs in order to prevent lateral movement and the bottom of the pan fits against the ends of the second sides so as to be supported thereby. Cross braces as hereinafter described are used to stabilize the legs employed.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Further details of this invention, as well as other objectives and advantages of it, will be apparent from a detailed consideration of the remainder of this specification, the appended claim and the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a side elevational view of a resently preferred embodiment or form of a combined water heater stand and drain pan of this invention;

FIG. 2 is a top plan view of the structure shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a bottom plan view of the structure shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a partial cross-sectional view taken at line 4-4 of FIG. 1; and

FIG. 5 is a partial cross-sectional view taken at line '55 of FIG. 2.

While the accompanying drawing illustrates a presently preferred embodiment or form of a combined water heater stand and drain pan of this invention, it will be understood that this drawing is primarily intended for illustrative and explanatory purposes, and is not intended to illustrate a precise structure drawn to scale. It will also be realized that various changes in proportions and the like may be made in the stand illustrated through the use 3 of routine engineering skill without departing from the scope of this invention.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT In the drawing there is shown a combined water heater stand and drain pan of this invention located upon a conventional floor surface 12. For convenience of reference this combined water heater stand and drain pan 10 is referred to hereinafter as a stand 10. This abbreviated reference is not intended to and is not to be taken as limiting the functions served by the entire stand 10. These functions have been indicated in the preceding and will be more fully apparent from the remainder of this description.

The stand 10 includes an upwardly concave pan 14 having a substantially cylindrical periphery 16 and a gradually sloping bottom 18. The lowest point of this bottom 18 is a centrally-located drain hole 20. The bottom 18 is adapted to carry a conventional internally threaded flanged fitting 22 which, in turn, carries a comparatively short length of threaded tubing or pipe 24 as shown in FIG. 5. This fitting 22 is spaced from and sealed with respect to the bottom 18 by a conventional gasket-type sealing member 26.

With this structure the fitting 22 is secured in place so that the sealing member 26 creates a seal between the bottom 18 and the fitting 22 by means of conventional fasteners 28. These fasteners 28 may be of any convenient type. Thus they may be common rivets. For on the job site assembly, preferably they are of a type which can be easily installed on a job site such as common bolts and nuts.

The stand 10 also includes four identically formed legs 30. Each of these legs 30 has a first side 32 and a second side 34. In a leg 30 these sides 32 and 34 are joined along adjacent edges so that all of the legs 30 have a crosssectional shape of a right angle. In each of the legs 30 the second sides 34 are shorter than the first side 32 so as to in effect form notches at the tops of these legs 30 which correspond in depth to the entire height of the pan 14.

In the stand 10 the legs 30 are located vertically equidistant from one another around and in part under the periphery of the pan 14 so that the bottom 18 of this pan 14 is directly supported on the second sides 34 of the legs 30 and so that the first sides 32 of the legs 30 fit substantially flat against the periphery 16. If desired these first sides 32 of the legs 30 can be curved slightly so as to fit exactly against the periphery 16. This is not normally necessary because the diameter of the pan 14 is normally sufiiciently great so that the small width of a first side 32 will fit substantially flat against the periphery 16 even if such a first side 32 is completely flat.

The first sides 32 of the legs are attached to the periphery 16 of the pan 14 by other conventional fasteners 36. Although such other fasteners may be conventional rivets, it is preferred for on the job site assembly that such other fasteners may be of a type which may be easily secured on a job site such as nuts and bolts so as to facilitate the stand 10 being shipped knocked down and assembled on a job site. It will be noted that the fasteners 36 are located above the bottom 18 of the pan 14 so as to minimize any possibility of leakage past these fasteners 36.

In the stand 10 the legs 30 are secured together so as to stabilize the entire stand 10 through the use of two cross braces 38 which are located beneath the pan 14 so as to extend between opposite of the legs 30' in a plane substantially parallel to the plane of the pan 14. These cross braces 38 are also preferably of an angle shape corresponding to the cross sectional configuration of the legs 30. This shape makes both these cross braces 38 and the legs 30 relatively resistant to bending with the use of a minimum amount of material. It is considered therefore to be important. Other fasteners 40 corresponding to and of the same character as the fasteners 36 are used to secure the cross braces 38 to the legs 30 and to one another where these cross braces 38 cross one another.

In use the entire stand 10 is erected and installed as indicated in FIG. 1 so as to be supported by a floor 12. Then a conventional hot water heater 42 may be located so that the legs 44 of such a heater rest within and are supported upon the bottom of the pan 14. The weight of this heater will be transmitted through the pan 14 to the legs 30 and thence to the floor 12 so as to obtain adequate support for this heater 42. By virtue of the construction of the periphery 16 of the pan 14 this pan 14 is relatively resistant to bending when the weight of the heater 42- is applied to it. This is particularly the case when, as preferred, the stand 10 is constructed so that the legs 44 will fit within the pan 14 adjacent to this periphery 16. This makes it possible to form the bottom 18 comparatively thin without danger of bending. This of course results in an economically important conservation of material.

When used in this manner, the stand 10 adequately and safely supports a heater 42 so as to be in compliance with appropriate regulations and codes requiring the installation of a hot water heater above the floor level. When used in this manner, appropriate pipes or a hose may be easily connected to the pipe 24 so as to lead or convey any leakage from the heater 42 to an appropriate drain or to the outside of the building so that no damage can arise from any such leakage.

Because of the nature of this invention, it is to be considered to being limited solely by the appended claim forming a part of this disclosure.

I claim: 1. A combined water heater stand and drain pan which includes:

an upwardly concaved pan, said pan including a sloping bottom leading to a drain opening and a substantially cylindrical periphery, said bottom adjacent to said periphery sloping gradually so as to provide a stable support for the legs of a hot water heater,

drain fitting means attached to said bottom of said pan so as to be in communication with said drain openfour legs supporting said pan, said legs being located equidistant from one another, each of said first legs having first and second sides joined at adjacent edges so as to have the cross-sectional shape of an angle,

said second sides of said legs being shorter than the first sides of said legs at the tops of said legs,

said legs being positioned with respect to said pan so that said first sides fit against the outside of said periphery and so that said bottom of said pan fits against said second sides of said legs,

fastening means securing said first sides of said legs to said periphery,

two cross-braces connecting alternate of said legs, each said crossbrace having sides joined at adjacent edges so as to have the cross-sectional shape of an angle, one side of each cross-brace being fastened to said second side of alternate legs, the other sides of said cross-braces extending across each other, said crossbraces being connected where they cross.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,581,176 4/1926 Cook 248--163 1,903,908 4/1933 Arlt 248151 2,203,632 6/ 1940 Munsun et a1. a- 248-163 2,918,812 12/1959' Ohmann et al 248- 2,199,481 5/1940 Chappell 248146 EDWARD C. ALLEN, Primary Examiner 

